The Fort Frances council had their first biweekly meeting of March on Monday. During the meeting, three letters submitted concerning the renaming of Colonization Road were referred to the Planning & Development Executive Committee for inclusion in the collection of comments on renaming Colonization Road.
Sorting Gap Marina
Council approved the request made by the Community Service Division to lease the Sorting Gap Marina.
Aaron Bisson, culture and recreation manager, said he made the request because Fort Frances residents are better off having the Sorting Gap Marina operated by a for profit organization.
“We just don’t have the ability to offer an expanded service that potentially another operator could,” Bisson said. “I see great benefit to an operator coming in with some ideas and some plans to expand what is being offered there and turning it around and making it a profitable venture.”
The Community Service Division released a package for preparing written proposals. If a business makes a successful proposal, they will be required to continue the sale of ice cream and provide washroom facilities out of the Sorting Gap Marina building during operating hours.
Before the approval was granted, some councillors had concerns about whether there is sufficient time a for profit organization would be able to lease and have their business operate within a tight timeline.
Coun. Douglas Judson voted against passing the report. He said this will change the calculus of the businesses model since it will no longer be a service that is provided by the town, but one that needs to be financially viable for an entrepreneur.
“I’m a little concerned about the potential runway we have to get someone in there who’s going to do a good job for the summer ahead,” Judson said. “And I’m concerned about sort of both the potential effect of clawing back that service when we’ve signalled that we want to have a long term tourism presence in that in that location.”
“Flint Mobile”
A “Flint Mobile” request was submitted by Stacey Cridland, manager, and Christine Cridland, catering and special events coordinator, to approve the placement of a food truck west of the boat trail. Along with the request to approve the truck, a fencing request was also made. Fencing is a requirement to sell alcoholic beverages in Ontario.
The truck, powered by propane, will be surrounded with four picnic tables and three small high tables within the patio area. Temporary fencing will be set up and taken down daily.
“We require access to the public washrooms at the marina, but if they are unavailable for public use, we would set up portable toilets and sinks,” the request states. “The food trucks main source of power would be coming from Hydro, while the appliances on the truck are powered by propane.”
The report states that the Flint House, along with many other local businesses, are struggling to make ends meet. They said they hope the expansion of the business generates additional income and exposure by being on the waterfront.
In hopes of having the truck operate in the summer, the Cridlands said they are making an early request because they understand that the approval of the bylaw takes time.
This request was referred to the Planning & Development Executive Committee for recommendation.
Dell “Keep It”
Council also approved the report to authorize the town’s IT manager to enrol in the Dell “Keep It” program. This will provide the town with a free evaluation sample Dell Latitude 9410 2-in-1 with a fair market value of $5,061.
In the report submitted to council, Jeremy Hughes, IT managers, said enrolling in this program creates no obligation for the town to purchase Dell products, nor provide Dell any preferential treatment throughout the town’s procurement processes. He adds that evaluation samples will be inventoried and accounted for at their fair market value and that Dell will have no influence over how evaluation samples are distributed or used by the town.
The next council meeting will be held on March 22, 2021. Town council meetings are open to the public through the Microsoft Teams platform or phone-in options. To access a council meeting follow the instructions at the top of the agenda you would like to attend. You can find the agendas posted at www.fortfrances.ca or call 807-274-5323 for assistance.
